


The Knights of Doncaster

by sakagucci



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-09 17:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakagucci/pseuds/sakagucci
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU filled with chivalry and chain mail. Louis is the King of Doncaster, Then there's Sir Harry, Sir Niall, Sir Liam, and Sir Zayn (who just so happens to not only be hiding his magic but also his budding feelings for Sir Niall). When a fearsome dragon leaves Doncaster in flames, King Louis heroically sets off on a quest to destroy the creature. And even though it's a solo quest, Louis' stubborn knights disobey him and join him on his perilous quest. The Knights of Doncaster never miss an opportunity to burn alive! So many plot holes you could take it to church. (please DON'T)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. more of a prologue

There once was a kingdom of Doncaster. The largest and most prosperous kingdom in it's day. The Doncaster knights came from kingdoms far and wide, and all shared feelings of loyalty and respect to the king. The bravest knight of them all was Sir Liam of Wolverhampton.

Sir Liam was by far the most adored. All of Doncaster loved him. Maidens fell at his feet. Men envied him. When he went into town the lowly serfs and the clever merchants and the humble craftsmen practically bowed on their knees as they would for the king.

One day, during a patrol around one of Doncaster's villages, Sir Liam slipped away into the green wood. He often disappeared. Liam always informed the king and his fellow nights he was visiting his sickly mother.

Something else however, had bloomed in the green wood. In the cool fall weather, it wasn't flowers that were blooming; it was love.

In the spring he found Aster.

Liam had ventured into the green wood to find a village girl’s dog that ran away. It was dark, and Liam had only the moon to light his way. He would have taken a horse, but he didn’t want it to be spooked by the girl’s dog, so he went by foot. In his knee high leather boots, Liam trudged through the green wood at night. The moon was his north star, and everything else was left to his senses and what he could barely make out with his eyes.

There was a rustle. No birds, he knew. It seemed heavier. Perhaps a fox? Perhaps the dog! The girl’s mother told him the dog’s name was Peach and that it was the color of a peach.

“He even likes peaches, Sir Liam!” the child had chimed in.

The rustle, however, was not Peaches. Liam stopped walking and peered around the bush that the rustle came from.

“Are you a knight?” said a voice.

Liam jumped and turned around quickly, his hand on his sword sheath. “Who goes th-”

He stopped mid sentence when he saw the creature standing behind him. Her skin was pale as the moon’s light and her hair was long and dark and it crinkled and waved and cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Her eyes were large and the dress that clung to her small figure was long and it had a strange ethereal glow.

It always seemed the knight's weakness was the maiden.

“I’m Aster, the tree nymph. Are you a knight?”

Liam bowed. “Yes. I am a Doncaster Knight. Sir Liam of Wolverhampton. M’lady,” he went to take her hand and kiss it, but Aster lifted her hand away from him gently.  

“What are you doing?” she asked.

"...Chivalry?” His confidence was draining away.

"Hm. Never heard of such a thing." Aster mused.

Liam sudddenly brightened. "There is something I think you could help me with! Have you seen a small dog? One that surely doesn't belong in the wild. His name is Peaches."

Aster spun around and crouched behind a bush. She stood up and there was a yellowish puppy, panting and fidgeting in her arms.

"You mean this dog?" she asked.

"I suppose."

"This is Peaches. I know. I borrowed him from the little serf village outside of the wood." Aster explained gloomily.

Liam knit his dark eyebrows together. "You can't do that. He has a family. Here. Hand him over, I need to return this dog to his family."

"Please! I'm so  lonely in these big green woods, Sir Liam." Aster said.

Liam's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could now clearly make out her face. It was drawn and it had lost it's unearthly look.

"I'm sorry."

Liam left Aster there, and returned Peaches to an ecstatic village child that thanked him and said: "you are a true hero, Sir Liam."

Liam swelled with pride, and suddenly turned and looked at the green wood. He rememberd Aster's delicate face, suddenly saddened.

And thus began Liam's nightly expeditions into the green wood after dark.  

As often as he could, Liam visited Aster. They became great friends. Eventually Liam explained his growing passion for Aster and they became more than friends. Liam spent more and more of his time in the woods. For the king, Liam's absence was becoming a problem. However, one night, all of that changed.

Sir Liam and the other Knights of Doncaster were sent on an important mission. There was a fire in the west village. The knights went down on horseback, prepared to save lives. When they arrived, Sir Liam was horrified. The forest was burning as well as the village. The forest. Aster's home.

Liam snuck off and ran into the forest, leaving his horse behind. He had to try and save his love.

However, Liam was too late. It took longer to reach her tree on foot, he knew. He felt stupid for leaving his horse. What was he thinking? There was Aster, a few inches from her tree, which was open wide in the middle, sap spilling out. Flames had begun to comsume it. He knew Aster had tried to escape the tree. The smoke probably got into her lungs and choked her. He grimaced thinking about it.

Liam knealt beside her on the ground and held her lifeless, gray body to his and wept for what seemed like an eternity; remembering the times they spent together; in the trees, by the lake, sharing secrets. Aster taught Liam about her world and Liam taught Aster about his.

"My darling, my love... We shall meet again someday. If nymphs and woodland creatures go to heaven... We'll find a way, Aster." He leaned Aster's body againsst her tree, muttered a quick prayer, and turned away as Aster's corpse was consumed in orange flames. When he looked back, the tree was a huge blaze of light.

When Liam returned to the scene of the village fire, the knights were consoling a family about the loss of one of its members. Everyone else seemed unharmed, but a few homes were deystroyed.

Sir Harry, Sir Liam's closest friend, turned to him quickly when he saw him arrive.

"YOU. Have you gone into the forest again? To visit your dear mother?" Harry exclaimed. His soot covered face was flushed and twisted with disbelief. It was unusual to see Sir Harry so upset.

"I..." Liam began. He knew that Harry was aware of what really went on in the green wood. "Harry, you've got to understand. If you've ever been in love."

"No, please save it." Sir Harry interrupted. He shook his head and turned back to consoling the family.

Liam mounted his steed. "Fine. Goodnight." He rode away from the scene. On his way out, a peasent maiden called his name. "Sir Liam! Sir Liam!"

He stopped for her.

"I have some flowers. For you. From my garden. To thank you for being a hero."

"I am NOT a hero." Sir Liam said. He looked the maiden right in the eyes. It was Sophia. She often gave him gifts. He wasn't in the mood to be given praise he didn't deserve.

"You... You are." She said, confused.

"No. Go home. I don't want any silly flowers. Those are weeds by the way."

Liam kicked his horse and off he went. He rode his horse away from the castle and villages; to a hill, where he could always see the moon, even it it was barely out. Sir Liam sat there and just stared. For the moon made him think of Aster.

Liam suddenly felt a presence behind him. He turned around slowly.

It was Sophia.

"How did you...?" He began. "It takes at least an hour to make it up here on foot."

Liam dismounted his horse.

"Why were you mean to me? You're supposed to love me." She said.

"Why would I..."

Sophia started murumuring strange words in a different language.

"What are you doing? Stop that."

"Dracon!" She cried.

"Huh?"

Suddenly Liam felt himself being lifted from the ground. His entire body began to stretch and disrort. The pain was indescribable. He rose so high in the air the Sophia was a mere dot on the hill.

Liam turned towards the moon, his north star, and glanced down into the dark sea, into his reflection. What he saw horrified him. The moon had illuminated everything. He could see that Sir Liam of Wolverhampton was no more. He had become a fearsome dragon. One he only read about as a child. Liam knew he could never return to Doncaster. He coud never be a Knight or serve the king again. How could he?

"If only you'd loved me," Sophia whispered below. "Sir Liam, the most adored of all the Doncaster Knights. A monster. A winged beast of terror."

 

The dragon fled Doncaster. No one heard from him again. Many said that the dragon lived in a tower on the island across Doncaster Lake, some said he lived in a cave. The truth would be revealed to the people soon. The truth about the dragon, and the truth about what happened to their beloved Sir Liam of Wolverhampton.


	2. the first official chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. I was coming up with ideas for other fan fics... so ashamed haha. Thank you for subscribing, subscriber. I appreciate you a lot :) ok anyway enjoy! tell me how you like it!

The only place Zayn Malik ever called home was Doncaster. It was where he became a knight, it was the land he protected and watched over, and most importantly, it was the home of Zayn's brother, King Louis Tomlinson. Yes, his brother was the king. Well, sort of.

Years ago, Doncaster was butting heads with a neighboring kingdom, and in an attack, Zayn's parents were killed. He was only 6 when it happened. The late King of Doncaster found Zayn hiding in his parent's cottage, under a table. His parent's lifeless bodies were only outside the door. The King saw Zayn and decided to take Zayn back to Doncaster with him. He didn't want to risk something happening to the child. Young Zayn reminded him of his own little prince.

The small cottage was in disarray. Zayn's parents were trying to leave. Luggage sat all around the main room filled with clothes and strange and exotic gold and jewels lay hidden and wrapped in socks and scarves.

"What is your name?" The King asked.

"Zayn,"

"Do you have a surname?"

"Malik,"

As Zayn grew, he and prince Louis not only recognized each other as playmates. They both learned latin and mathematics and history and reading and grammar and penmanship. But as young Louis was learning about governing a kingdom at his father's side, Zayn decided that he wanted to become a knight.

Prince Louis grew into a suitable heir for the throne, and once his father passed away, Prince Louis became King Louis. Zayn eventually became Sir Zayn, a knight of Doncaster.

Little things about the way Zayn lived with the Tomlinsons lingered. No matter how much Zayn felt apart of the royal family, he always knew he was not royalty. When other royal families visited, they always asked about Zayn. He didn't look like the Tomlinsons. His eyes were dark and his skin had an olive undertone. Because of this, Zayn kept Malik as his surname. It was strange enough that he lived with the King responsible for the death of his family. He never questioned the Tomlinson's love for him, but he was a Malik.

He felt he owed that to his father; the man who taught Zayn at a young age who he was; a Warlock. And that was something to be proud of. Most importantly, Zayn's father taught him to be in touch with that center, that part of him that held magic. He taught Zayn that magic wasn't just spells and shift shaping; it was just knowing everything you experienced in the world was ultimately something you could control and mold into your own. Zayn never let go of those teachings, and would not let go of his identity as a Malik or a warlock.

  
  
  
  


This story officially begins with Louis and Zayn at dinner. It's a regular Tuesday evening. Everything is running as usual in Doncaster...

"Suppose it's about time I found a wife?" King Louis asked Zayn after a servant brought a pitcher of wine to the table.

Zayn was kind of staring into his big bowl filled with a dark green soup. He didn't know what exactly it was. The only smell he got from it was an overwhelming whiff of salt that most food in the castle possesed. As Zayn continued to stare, he realized he was seeing his reflection in the dark soup. His manservant told him earlier that day that full beards were in style nowadays, and that he shouldn't shave, so Zayn's face was all covered in thick black beard. Louis had a similar beard. His young face was covered in prickly auburn.

"Zayn?" Louis said. "Hello, anyone home?" He snapped his fingers.

"Huh?" Zayn looked up from his bowl of soup and down across the long table. Dinner was like meeting Louis at opposite ends of a road. The table was so long, and there were only two chairs at either end.

"Do you think it's about time I got married?" Louis asked. "You know, to have a queen and little children. Hopefully some boys."

"Hmm, yea maybe." Zayn said. He stirred his soup with a spoon. It was pretty much just broth. Dark green broth. Of what? He didn't exactly want to find out.

"What is up with you today?" Louis asked, sitting back in his chair. "Are you ill?"

"I just feel unbalanced," Zayn said, suddenly giving Louis his full attention.

Louis slit his eyes and smirked. "Is this that warlock thing again? That time of the month is it?"

"Shut up, mate," Zayn said with a smile. He rolled his eyes.

"But honestly, how does it really work, the whole warlock magic powers thing? I never really asked."

Although it was usually hard to tell when he was being sarcastic, Zayn could see that Louis was genuinely curious. He appreciated when Louis asked questions; Louis was the only one that knew about Zayn's abilities. It was hard for Zayn, at times, to not acknowledge who he was in the world. He felt as if a part of him was locked up.

"It's kind of just, like reflexes. Except I have control over it, ya know? No. It feels like a little hole of enlightenment in your mind about the way the world works." Zayn said, leaning forward against the table as if doing so would get him closer to Louis' face

A sincere expression suddenly wiped over King Louis' face. He leaned forward the same way Zayn had.

"You know... If I could.. I would." Louis said.

"You can though, Louis." Zayn said.

"It's not that simple." the young king sighed and sat back. He closed his eyes. "When you're governing a kingdom of people that are afraid of the word, you know, magic. It's just hard to tell them it's acceptable. If I suggest that they could think I'm a warlock and you know, fingers will never stop pointing. The fear of magic is like a disease. We'd all be better off if..."

Zayn sat up slightly. He didn't want it to be obvious that the comment offended him, but Louis knew him too well.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Louis sighed.

"No, you know, I should just accept that it's going to be this way." Zayn said, his gaze returning to his dark green broth.

A loud knocking on the front castle doors could be heard from the hallway.

Glunk glunk glunk glunk!

Louis stood from the table in his professional kingly manner. Zayn stood as well, awaiting the visitor.

The guards at the doors of the dining room opened the front door and in came four knights; Sir Harry in the front, followed by Sir Niall, Sir Edward, and Sir Nicholas, all in a line wearing their red and green costumes that matched the one Zayn was wearing, like little elves trained to fight and kill.

"King Louis, my dearest friend, we knights of Doncaster have come to you with a tale of woe," Sir Harry said in his usual annoyingly poetic fashion. His youthful face hidden by chocolate curls was stern but not completely serious at the same time.

"Tell me your bloody tale of woe," King Louis said in his loud, authoritative king voice. The knights all stood horizontally, in a line, with their hands folded in front of them in a particularly uniform way.

Sir Harry pulled out a note from a strange place beneath his tunic and held it up very officially.

"This alliance is not working. The nomads have invaded again. We knew we were fucked when we heard their huge ponies galloping down the hills. They have taken a huge toll on our kingdom. You and your men have once again failed to come to our aid. We should discuss this further at a later date. Sincerely, The King of Cheshire."

“...I think the King of Cheshire dumped you.” Sir Nicholas said.

Harry shook his head slowly and furrowed his brow. "Shame, init? My Lord..."

"I sense an inappropriate amount of sarcasm," King Louis remarked, slitting his dark blue eyes.

King Louis strode over to the knight. "Let me see this... How did you get this and I didn't? It's addressed to me?"

"Sir Harry certainly has his ways, my Lord." Sir Niall said with a chuckle his usually cheeky smile. Sir Niall always spoke with a charming lilt that was reminiscent of the kingdom of Mullingar where he was from.

Sir Nicholas made a face. "Sir Niall, I know you're a newbie, but be serious for once, would you?"

Niall seemed unfazed by Sir Nicholas' comment. He looked around and his eyes fell on Zayn's. Zayn felt his heart lift. It was a lift that instantly left him with a lingering anxiety. Niall smiled as if Sir Nicholas' comment amused him and Zayn shared that amusement.

"...I saw the messenger riding past my manor and I stopped him." Sir Harry explained steadily. The other knights often teased him about how slowly he spoke. "I said, 'where are you coming from?'  Because I had a bit of that Greenslip you suggested in my tea that morning I was feeling friendly. Anyway, the messenger said he was coming from Cheshire, and I said I'M FROM BLOODY CHESHIRE - happily, I'll have you know. It wasn't an outburst of fury. And I took the letter." Sir Harry said proudly.

"The messenger let you? Take a letter for the King of Doncaster?" Louis questioned incredulously.

Harry thought for a moment. "Why, yes. He did let me. Maybe it's these curls."

"You chop them off." Louis said. "Cannot have you stealing any man's mail. What if I have a secret lover?"

The knights laughed. Zayn and Niall's eyes flickered over one another's again for a moment and Niall stopped laughing slowly. Zayn tried to smile.

Then BOOM.

There was a loud noise.

Louis and the knights went outside.

They saw something

Horrible.

A huge,

black

dragon!

He was blowing his fire over Doncaster.

Peasants were running towards the castle.

The dragon leaned it's head back and roared and then picked up air beneath it's ink black wings and flew up into the air and away from the kingdom.

"You come back!" Sir Harry cried.

Sir Ed touched Sir Harry's shoulder. "Shut up," he said.

Harry was so dumbfounded by Edward's comment that he didn't even look angry.

Louis ordered the knights to open the doors

and let the villagers inside for refuge from the flames.

he tried to protect who he could

it wasn’t possible.

as a king that loved his kingdom, Louis wanted to save everyone.

but he could not.

And that thought created

so much pain inside of him.

Louis felt so weak.

None of the knights knew what to do in the presence of the dragon besides try to stab it with their swords.

but fire

glowing orange and dancing recklessly

destroying anything in it’s path

was pouring out from the dragon’s mouth

Louis and the knights had all the survivors in the castle.

the wounded filled the dining hall and those who were not physically hurt were curled up in the halls, clustered close to one another in the dark.

nurses and servants were tending to them.

They were traumatized,

crying,

their pink faces blackened with soot.

“We have to do something about this,” Niall reflected as he and Zayn leaned against the wall, speaking over the din that filled the dining hall.

“What can we do?” Zayn said.

“There’s always something, Sir Zayn,” Niall said.

“You know, you don’t have to call me that. We’re both knights. Just call me Zayn.”

Niall shrugged. “That works.”

Since Niall came to Doncaster and offered up his services as a knight, Zayn had formed a strange attachment to him. Sir Niall Horan, who was so loyal and brave and up for anything, was also delicate, like a little blue-eyed angel with a quirky laugh. Zayn wanted to know everything there was to know about Niall. The problem was that Zayn didn’t really know Niall at all. He just wanted to so badly. The worst was when he wanted to talk to Niall so much, but he just didn’t know what he could possibly talk about.

What worried Zayn the most, besides the fact that he knew for sure that he fancied Niall, another man, was that Zayn felt the strongest desire to reveal his magic to him; the quirky, angelic blue eyed boy that he didn’t really know. Zayn really wanted to have someone to love all to himself that he could share his magic with.

Then Zayn knew what they could do.

“You’re right,” Zayn said, leaning away from the wall. “There’s always something. Pardon me.” He stepped away from Niall to find Louis. It was hard not to look back and see if Niall seemed in anyway disappointed about Zayn’s abrupt exit.

At first, King Louis was nowhere to be found, until Zayn thought, and realized that Louis was most likely in the horse stables, preparing to ride after the dragon. This ride would most likely end quickly, and Louis would come back and proceed to pace, wondering what to do with himself if he couldn’t take action.

Louis was sitting on his black stallion, just looking into the distance out the open barn door at Doncaster, in flames. He must have sensed Zayn’s entry.

“I am the King of Doncaster, am I not, Zayn?”

“You are, Louis.” Zayn said.

“So what am I doing just sitting here? I need to go find that thing. Now.” Louis said. “I can’t just LET these things happen and sit back and wait for it to all blow over! The dragon will strike once more.”

“You don’t know that…” Zayn began.

Louis turned completely in Zayn’s direction.

“You can do something, can’t you?” Louis said. “You have that magic.”

“It’s not that easy..”

Louis face was red as his tunic. “I HATE when you say that. I hate when anybody says that. It may not be ‘that easy’ but it doesn’t have to be that hard either.”

Zayn just looked at Louis stupidly. “You’ve said that before.”

Louis ignored him. “It can be that easy. I will make it so.”

Zayn sighed.

“This is something I must do on my own.” King Louis announced. He was acting like King Louis again, and not just Louis Tomlinson, the boy who inherited the throne only a year ago.

“...Tomorrow at dawn, I will leave in search of this beast and I will take it and bring back it’s head for all of Doncaster to behold.”

"The knights of Doncaster will be helping you of course, King Louis." Niall said.

Niall?

Zayn turned. Niall smiled at him. Had he followed Zayn to the stables?

"No." Louis said. He suddenly got his familiar Louis smirk back. "I'm doing this alone. It's a solo mission! I will be the most fearless king Doncaster has ever seen! Huzza!"

"Huzza!!" Niall exclaimed.

"Huzza?"

Zayn was apprehensive. He didn't want his brother to go on his own. That dragon would fry his as.

Louis rode his horse off into the smoking night.  

"Where's King Louis goin?" Niall asked.

"To have a night ride. He does that when he feels good about something." Zayn said with a sigh.

"What's wrong, S- Zayn?" Niall asked.

Zayn just looked at Niall. His eyes were so round and pretty.

"How long were you listening to our conversation?" A smile teased Zayn's lips.

"I admit, I followed you... I wanted to know what you were up to..." Niall said. He pursed his lips and looked at his boots.

"That's cute." Zayn said.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind."

That would be the first of many 'neverminds'

Zayn was exhausted, but he knew he couldn't sleep. Louis would be up at dawn to try and kill an enormous fire breathing beast, and unfortunately, Zayn was really loyal. He couldn't let his brother go on his own.


	3. the not so red woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis goes on a mission. He wants to go alone. However, while he is searching for a dragon, his knights are searching for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going for historical accuracy. Fun fact: there weren't any potatoes in Europe when knights and chivalry were at their prime.
> 
> This could have been said at the beginning of the prologue. Anyway, enjoy. Expect an update by next Saturday. leave feedback feedback please! it helps :-)

King Louis arose that morning with a start. Light was streaming through his windows. It was definitely past dawn. He had to go.

"Curses!" Louis exclaimed.

He threw his sheets off and scrambled out of bed. He found a sack and began to fill it with things he would need for his journey. Money, a knife, a flask filled with wine....

"Hmm. Nice arse, your highness."

Louis turned around quickly. When he saw the pile of brown girlish locks he remembered that he had spent the night with a maiden; One that he often visited in the village to have 'dealings' with.

"Why thank you, Eleanor." Louis said suavely. He was blushing though, and he waddled back over to the bed his hand covering his front awkwardly and wrapped a blanket around his waist.

"Pants work fine too," Eleanor said with a sleepy smirk.

She was by far the only woman Louis had slept with that looked just as amazing after waking up.

"Pants are too conventional," Louis argued.

"Fact." Eleanor responded.

Louis smiled to himself as he continued to organize and sift through his things to pack for his journey. Eleanor was different. She didn't care what other people thought. When she left him, Louis always wanted to see her again. He was addicted. It could come of no good, Louis knew. He needed to be married properly, to a woman of status. Unlike Eleanor, Louis cared a lot about what people thought. It was hard not to, being a king.

"I'm late. I have to go. I told Sir Zayn you would be here. He's the only one who knows. He'll get you out." Louis said. He reached into a drawer and pulled on a pair of conventional trousers and a shirt.

"Ugh, can I at least stay for breakfast? We're having ash and soot porridge in the land of the serfs." Eleanor complained.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Sir Harry takes care of you all working on his manor. You won't eat ash and soot. Anyway, the dragon didn't get to that side of Doncaster."

"One does not feel as if they're being taken care of when you're stuck as a serf in a little straw cottage for the rest of your life." Eleanor said, sitting up in the bed.

"I would never know," Louis said, running his fingers through his auburn hair in the mirror.

Eleanor got up and dressed in her clothes that were lying in a pile on the ground silently.

Louis got a glimpse of her in his mirror and smiled the way a boy would.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. "Your highness!"

Knock knock

"Your highness?"

It was one of the maids. They were probably sent by Zayn to make sure Louis hadn't left. He was always keeping an eye out. But not this time. Louis was the King of Doncaster. He could flee to hunt and kill a dragon if he pleased.

King Louis slid over to Eleanor and helped her with the clasps on the back of her dress.

"Ok, just say here. Pretend to be sleeping. The maid will tell Zayn that I've left, and he'll barge in here to pace around and eventually decide to got after me. Ok? Your job is to sleep and sleep and Zayn will sneak you out. There are still refugees sleeping in the halls you don't want them to see you coming downstairs.." Louis explained.

Eleanor shook her head yes.

Knock knock

"Ok... I don't want Zayn to know I'm just now leaving or he'll think he has a better chance of stopping me." Louis said.

"Ok." Eleanor said. Her cheeks reddened suddenly. "Be careful, alright? Don't die."

"What?" Louis said.

Knock knock

"D-just don't die. Ok? Promise?"

"I can't promise you that, Eleanor."

Eleanor sighed and kissed the king on the mouth. She still tasted the rum he had the night before.

"I should have known better."

Knock knock

Louis gave a bittersweet smile and pinched Eleanor's cheek softly. Her face was burning. He could tell she didn't want to cry. Crying meant she really cared. Louis really cared, and he knew she did too, but that was not something either of them were ready to face.

King Louis turned and put on his black leather jacket.

"Goodbye." Louis said.

Eleanor got back into Louis' bed. "See you."

She looked so small there; a little village girl in a large bed fit for royalty.

Louis got his father's sword from the mantle and his sack and took the secret stairwell into the stables. He gave his steed Emerson a potato - because Lord knows he would need the carbs - Then he got the stable boy to help him into his chain mail and helmet and saddled up.

"I wasn't here," Louis said to the stable boy.

The boy's dirt covered face was bewildered. "Uh... Oh! Yes your highness."

"Yes." Louis said. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Your highness."

The Louis and Emerson rode off, far away from Doncaster, to the north, into the hills. For that was where Louis saw the dragon flying to the night before.

 

After the maid reported the lack of response from King Louis, Sir Zayn decided to have a knock himself.

No response.

"Louis William Tomlinson!" Zayn exclaimed. In the silence, Zayn could hear laughter from within the king's chambers.

Zayn opened the door. He blushed when he saw Eleanor hiding in Louis' bed.

"Oh, you again." Zayn said.

"Oh?" Eleanor smiled.

Zayn approached Eleanor in the bed. Up close he could see the red rims around her eyes. She had been crying.

"What has become of my brother?" Zayn asked.

Eleanor just keep smiling.

"Speak, witch." Zayn demanded.

"You say the word as if it disgusts you." Eleanor said. "Witch, witch. You're a bloody witch as well! Don't forget who you are. You are not one of them. No matter how much you dislike me, we'll always have sorcery in common."

Eleanor extended her arm to a solemn portrait of one of the late kings of Doncaster on Louis' wall above his desk.

"I would never forget." Zayn said.

"Louis said you'll sneak me out. My father will be wondering where I am." Eleanor said.

"Take the stairwell into the stables and leave from there." Zayn said.

Eleanor walked towards the secret stairwell but Zayn stopped her in her tracks. "Where did my brother go?"

Eleanor suddenly looked very weary. "He was gone when I awoke this morning. I haven't seen him."

"I don't believe you." Zayn said. But he moved out of her way anyway.

Eleanor opened the door. "Bye,"

"Bye."

She closed the door and descended into the stable.

Zayn now was sure of his mission. He had to go after Louis. He would stop him, or join him. Either way, Zayn would not leave his brother's side.

He went to his chambers and gathered things he would need for his mission. As Zayn was about to enter the stable for his horse and some armor, he realized the castle would be left without anyone to be in charge.

As the stable boy (whose name was Ashton) was helping Zayn into his armor, he looked into the boy's eyes and smiled.

Ashton smiled back.

"Thank you, Ashton." Zayn said. "Now, I need an enormous favor,"

Ashton nodded. "Anything, Sir Zayn."

"Don't tell anyone about this." Zayn said.

"Wha-"

Zayn took a deep breath and from the palm of his hand he forged a bright yellow orb of energy. The energy was so strong it made his hand shake. He remembered his father having the same problem when forging any kind of energy.

Zayn turned his palm out in Ashton's direction and pressed the orb into the boy's forehead. Ashton immediately fell to the ground. He was out cold.

"Blast!" Zayn exclaimed. He kneeled, sat Ashton up, and slapped him hard on the back.

Ashton's eyes flew open and he took in a huge gust of air. "I must make sure the refugees have bread and water and a place to sleep. They cannot spend another night in these cold halls." He said robotically.

"Good. A mini Louis. Well done, Zayn Malik." Zayn said to himself. "Take care of Doncaster for us, boy,"

"Of course, your highness." Ashton said. He bowed stiffly.

Then the knight got his horse and started off. He didn't have the slight idea of where to find Louis, so he decided to just go North; towards the red woods.

As Louis started down the dusty path from the stables, Sir Niall rode up next to him on his white speckled horse. As soon as Zayn got a glimpse of his blond locks, he had to stop.

“Where ya goin, Zayn?” Niall asked. His cheeks were rosy and his breath was visible as it tumbled out of his mouth into the chilly fall air.

Zayn stopped his horse. “Um..”

Niall stopped his horse.

“I… Louis. I’m going after him.” Zayn said.

“The King said it was to be a solo quest!” Niall said.

“Yes, but… Louis is my brother. I can’t let him go.” Zayn said. “You have to understand.”

Niall furrowed his eyebrows. “I guess I do. I’ll come along then.”

“No,” Zayn said.

Niall was stumped by Zayn’s response. He puckered his small pink lips. “Why not?”

“We’re talking about a dragon. A firebreathing, winged lizard beast. It’ll be extremely dangerous if I cannot convince Louis to return to Doncaster.” Zayn said.

“And I’m a knight!” Niall said. “Whose business is it other than a knight’s to slay a dragon? We exist to slay dragons. Haven’t you heard the stories, Zayn?”

Something about Sir Niall really made Zayn want to protect him. Zayn knew what it was. He had affections towards Niall, and he knew it. Whenever he was around, Zayn felt self consious. At the same time Niall made him feel a kind of happiness that left you with those warm fuzzy feelings, but at the same time, this dread that settled in the pit of his stomach, because Zayn knew he could never be with Niall. It wasn't right.

"I'm going." Niall said. "You can't stop me."

"I can."

"I'm not a child. I'm older than Sir Harry."

"So?"

"You cannot stop me from following you!"

"I can."

Zayn got his horse to pick up speed.

He could hear Niall's horse galloping behind him. Niall followed Zayn into the green wood.

"Stop, Sir Zayn!" Niall cried.

Zayn could hear a hint of a playful note in Niall's voice. It made him smile.

Zayn did not stop. "What was that?" He yelled.

Niall didn't respond. They continued to race into the green wood, with just the sounds of their horses' hooves hitting the dirt ground and their own breathing. For Zayn, knowing that Niall was behind him left him with a fluttery contnentment in his chest... If that makes any sense.

Zayn slowed down when Niall caught up with him. They walked their horses alongside each other. Niall's face was all flushed in a deep pink color and he was smiling from ear to ear.

"What are you smilin for?" Zayn asked smugly.

"Huh?" Niall tried to get a straight face. "I just..."

"I jest, I jest!" Zayn said with a chuckle.

"Oh," Niall chuckled as well. Shyly.

For some reason shy chuckles really turned Zayn on. Also blond knights from Mullingar. They turned him on too.

"So I guess you're coming along then." Zayn said.

"Hell yea I am." Niall said.

The two knights continued to ride through the forest. Zayn actually noticed how beautiful it was. The yellow mid morning light poured through the leaves and speckled everything with little bright spots. He looked at Niall. Golden light stripped his pale face. Zayn hid the desire to sigh out loud.  

As they continued to ride through the woods. Sir Niall heard something.

"D'ya hear that?" Niall asked. He stopped his horse.

"What? No?" Zayn stopped as well.

"Sounds like grunting. Human gunting." Niall said.

The two knights tied their horses to a nearby tree and got off so the could investigate.

"Louis?" Zayn called. "Are you out there?"

"King Louis! Your majesty?" Niall called.

"Maybe it's not Louis." Zayn said to Niall. "It could just be some no good forest dweller."

Niall shrugged.

"You're right!" Cried a voice. It was not Louis', but it was familiar.

The knight's hands went straight to their sheaths.

Sir Harry stood up from behind a bush. Naked. His curly chesnut locks were sticking up in every direction and they were filled with bits of fall leaves. Despite his hair, Harry was looking exceptionally alive.

"Tada!" He cried.

"What da hell??" Niall exclaimed.

"What do you mean? You should have said 'what the heaven' because look at me! I'm a god. And I feel like one too." Harry said.

There was a feminine giggle from behind the bush.

"Ooh! Almost forgot." Harry reached down and gathered up a spritely green tree nymph with long white hair. She was wrapped in Harry's knight cape thingie. "This is my friend, Tulip. Tulip, Sir Zayn, and Sir Niall."

"What on earth are you... A tree nymph, really, Harry?" Zayn said.

"Huh, yea! What brings you lads into these marvelous not so red woods?" Harry asked.

"We are in search of my brother. He fled this morning. He's going after the dragon that came last night." Zayn explained.

"A dragon?" Harry said.

Tulip wrapped her arms around Harry's toned bicep and shuddered. "Dragon?"

"Yes. He won't make it on his own. There is a reason why the only knights that survive one on one encounters with dragons are in fairy tales." Zayn said.

Sir Harry, being the dramatic eccentric man he was, reached down behind the push and pulled out his sword. He jammed it into the dirt beside him. "Then I shall join my fellow knights and stand by my king!" Harry lowered his voice. "No matter the risk."

"Yes!" Niall said. "It'll be a team effort!"

Zayn made a reluctant expression.

"Do you have a horse, Harry?" Niall asked.

"Nope... Left him..." Harry said proudly with a cheeky smile.

"Well, looks like..." Zayn began.

"Don't worry you can use mine, Harry!" Niall said. "We can..."

"Yea, I'll ride with Niall." Zayn said quickly. He felt so stupid suddenly. Blood rushed to his cheeks.

Niall glanced at Zayn for a second. "Yea!"

Tulip gave Niall and Zayn a small smile and crooned.

"Off we go then!" Zayn said.

"Off we go! On a journey into the unknown!" Harry cried. He stepped out from behind the bush and revealed his nudity in it's entiriety.

The other knights looked away.

"Just... Put some pants on first. Ok?" Zayn grimaced.

 

 


	4. If it counts for anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yea so if anyone read I said I would update last Saturday... haha! Threw that out the window! Anyway, please enjoy this thing I took really long to write. Historical accuracy was not the goal.

King Louis felt as if he'd been travelling for weeks, when in fact he had only been in the Red Wood for two days.

He admitted to being a bit lonely now, going on the second day into his mission. At first it was nice with just his horse and being surrounded by the trees, and nature, and possibly dangerous woodland creatures. Now, it was just tiring. And anyway, if Louis were to die on this brave quest of his, it wouldn't hurt to have someone to talk to before it happened.

The king was coming to the edge of the forest when he came across a rickety wooden bridge. He looked at his steed.

"I fear crossing with you..." Louis said. "You weigh as much as four of me."

"Doesn't matter anyway..." Someone spoke.

Louis' hand went to his sheath at his side and he slipped off of his horse's back. "Who goes there??"

From under the bridge came a small man with a blue beard and really big ears. He was so small, and he had such big ears. Big boots as well. They were definitely not his size.

"And what are you, exactly?" Louis asked with a snort.

"I'm a troll, and this is my bridge!" Barked the little blue haired man. He had a surprisingly deep voice for such a height.

"Oh. Well, it's quite rickety. Might need some maintenance." Louis said.

"You take that back."

Louis ignored him. "I'll just be crossing now."

"No!" The troll cried. "You shall not cross."

Louis was flustered. "I am King Louis of Doncaster! I shall! These woods are in boundaries under my hold!"

"It's the forest. It belongs to the earth. Not to some human!" The troll yelled.

Louis took his steed over the reins and began to cross.

The troll cried out and suddenly Louis' horse was zapped into a mini horse the size of a tea biscuit.

"MY HORSE!" Louis cried, picking his confused horse up carefully before it could run off. "Witchcraft!" He pointed an accusing finger at the troll. "And Zayn wonders why it must be banned."

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" The troll cried.

Suddenly the bridge unhinged itself and came towards Louis at both sides.

"What the-?" He put his horse in this pocket carefully.

The bridge wrapped itself around Louis. The wood was very strong. As Louis fought, the wood of the bridge would not budge. It squeezed him tight in all his heavy chainmail and armor and sent the king and his tiny horse into a tiny hole in the ground. Louis didn't know how it was possible. He was suddenly sliding through a dark dirt tunnel with no idea where he was headed. Was this the end? Certainly not.

The darkness broke and Louis stopped rolling. He found himself in a small room filled with little blue trolls. The blue troll who screamed at him was there. They were all sitting at a wooden table covered with leaves and berries and acorns. There was a roaring fire in the hearth beside the table.

"I've brought you all dinner!" He cried.

"WHAT!?" Louis exclaimed.

All the trolls laughed heartily. "You fool. If only we had time to carve such a large animal as you. Besides, there are so many other things in these abundant woods."

Louis felt sick to his stomach. How was he going to get out of this one?

 

Zayn, Niall, and Harry had stopped for the night and made a fire. After a measly dinner of a little rabbit Harry dramatically killed and cooked, the knights slept. Well, Harry did. Niall decided to stay up and keep watch for awhile and Zayn was awake as well although be pretended to be asleep. He couldn't sleep. He knew Niall was there, sitting up behind him with his knees against his chest; his golden hair glowing in the flames keeping them warm.

Zayn rolled over onto his back and looked directly at Niall, feeling brave.

Niall had begun to doze off, but feeling Zayn's gaze, he blinked awake.

"Huh?"

"I couldn't sleep." Zayn said looking up at the sky suddenly. His attitude was so phony, but Niall was too naive to notice, he knew. Perhaps it was naive of Zayn to assume that though.

"I fear I'm going to doze off again." Niall said. "I need some caffeine. That's good stuff, caffeine. Works for me like magic."

"Magic, eh?" Zayn said, raising an eyebrow. "What do you know about magic?"

“My father loathed the idea to the point where he claimed it couldn’t exist. Yet, whenever something terrible happened, he blamed ‘those damn witches.’ My mother was pretty much the same. There was more fear than hate though.”

"Well what did you think, Niall?" Zayn asked.

Niall bit his lip and stared into the embers. The look on his face sent jittery feelings through Zayn's chest.

“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never seen any magic.” Niall said. “I’m a ‘seeing is believing’ kind of guy.”

Harry grumbled.

Zayn stood up and beckoned for Niall to do the same. "Follow me, I wanna show you something." He whispered.

"And leave Harry asleep?" Niall whispered back.

"He'll be fine." Zayn said, pausing to look at his friend, peacefully dreaming on the ground.

There was a strange look in Zayn's hazel eyes that Niall never understood. It was adventurous yet unsure. Somehow Niall trusted it those eyes.

"Alright." He said.

Niall followed the other knight deeper into the woods, down a little path. Zayn didn't know where he was going at all.

"Ok here." Zayn announced, suddenly stopping.

Niall looked around. "Where are we?"

"I don't have a damn clue." Zayn said with a chuckle.

Niall smiled awkwardly. He was unsure of how to feel.

"Ok..." Zayn said. He didn't know what had gotten into his head. He just didn't feel like holding back anymore. "Watch me, ok?"

Niall gave a confirming nod.

Away from the firelight, Zayn could hardly see Niall's pretty face.

Zayn thought of all the magic he could use; something that Niall would like. Something that would be innocent, and wouldn’t take a lot of energy. He decided a charming spell would be perfect.

Zayn plucked a dying flower from the ground and let it sit in one of his palms. With the other hand he formed a little dome over the flower.

"What are y-" Niall started.

"Just... It'll make sense in a second." Zayn said. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Nothing happened. This had to work.

Just focus on what you want to see, Zayn thought.

Then the light began to burn his palms. It wasn't a painful burn, it was just very warm, like cupping your hand over a mug of hot water. The light was pale at first, and as it grew and shone through the spaces between Zayn's fingers, it was an electric blue. He slowly opened his palm, and as he did, the once dead flower sprung to life. In the light he could make out the bright yellow color the flower had. It was a yellow rose. What had a yellow rose been doing on the ground?

"Holy..." Niall breathed. "How did...?"

"Don't tell anyone." Zayn said. He smiled when he said it. It kind of gave him a rush, carelessly sharing his magic. He wasn't one to flaunt it, and of course he hardly ever did. Only to Louis. Barely even then.

"Here," Zayn said, handing Niall the rose.

"I can?"

"Yea. It will die soon though, in your hands." Zayn said.

Niall took the flower. His blue eyes sparkled as he turned the flower slowly in this fingers. His mouth hung open.

"What are you?"

For some reason that stumped Zayn. He suddenly felt like he had done wrong by sharing his magic. He was different, and now Niall knew. Niall could fear him, Niall could be wary of him. Especially if he knew anything about how powerful magic could be; powerful enough to bring life back into a rose.

Zayn looked at Niall, who was still gaping at him.

"I'm a wielder of magic," he said finally. "Warlock, witch, sorcerer, all of the above."

Niall took a step back. "It's all true, isn't it?"

Zayn's heart skipped a beat. "Well dragons are real aren't they? Why not magic?"

“What? What are you saying?” Niall asked. A look of fear suddenly wiped across Niall’s soft face. He took another step back and dropped the rose. The blue light flickered in a pile of dead fall leaves and slowly faded into the darkness.

BAM. He messed up.

“Are you afraid of me?” Zayn asked. It came out sounding offended, yet he had no right to be offended. Most people feared magic. Why should he be offended, right?

Niall just looked at Zayn for awhile. Zayn took a step forward and Niall moved back.

“No,” He said.

“I’m sorry.” Zayn said. Why should he apologize?

“Does Louis know?”

“Yes,”

“Harry?”

“No. Only Louis. Only Louis knows. My parents knew.”

“The late King William?” Niall asked.

“My real parents.” Zayn responded sharply. He felt a cold betrayal in his heart for uttering those words. No matter what he felt about them though, they were true.

“Were they…?”

Zayn nodded. “Niall, please don’t step away from me.”

Niall straightened himself and sighed. It was a wonder how a guy in a knight’s uniform could look so innocent and at the same time strong enough to go into battle on horseback.

“Why do you look at me that way?” Niall asked slowly.

Zayn flushed. “Huh? What way?”

“Like you’re searching for something.” Niall said. “I always notice it, even though I seem like I don’t. I notice everything. I notice when you stare at me.”

Zayn scoffed. “Wow, it’s all about you,” He said.

Niall gave him a look of disbelief.

This was going so well.

Niall took a few steps forward. “I may be smaller than the rest of you knights, but that doesn’t mean I’m so innocent and naive.”

“Naive enough to think I’m staring at you,” Zayn said.

Niall furrowed his eyebrows and pulled his lips into a tight circle. Now that Zayn’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could tell that Niall’s cheeks had turned pink. It was enough to make Zayn moan right there, out loud.

“I look at you too sometimes, except you’re too much of a dunce to notice.” Niall said.

If Zayn could express his surprise he would explode.

Niall stepped closer to him. He stepped on the dead rose. Zayn put his hand on the tree beside him and suddenly streams of green light crawled up the vines of the tree.

Niall’s eyes followed the light as it spread. The entire space around them was suddenly filled with green light as the tree seemed to drink up the light into it’s leaves that hung over the knights’ heads.

“How the hell do you do that?” Zayn asked.

Niall chuckled and looked straight into Zayn’s eyes with an incredulous smirk. He raised an eyebrow. “How did I do something?”

Zayn ignored me. “You’re the only person that has ever made me feel so wrong inside.”

“What?”

Zayn’s heartbeat sped up and the color flowing through the trees turned a deep violet.

“Sweet baby Jesus in a manger,” Niall said, still fascinated by the lights.

“Can I kiss you?” Zayn asked quietly. “Can I kiss you?” Zayn repeated, louder.

The other knight looked away from the lights and straight at Zayn slowly. Niall just looked at him for awhile. His eyes flickered over every inch of Zayn’s face. Usually it would have made Zayn feel self-conscious, but there was something so sweet about the way Niall studied him.

Niall stepped in closer to Zayn, who was a few inches taller than him, and touched his face carefully, as if he was afraid Zayn would jerk back.

“May I, please kiss you?” Zayn asked. He had been holding his breath.

“Not yet,” Niall said with an empowered smile.

Zayn gently touched Niall’s hand that was on his face and a pale blue light shot up Niall’s forearms, tracing his veins.

“You’ve done it to me too,” Niall said quietly.

That made Zayn turn completely red. How was it possible for someone to go from innocent and angelic to confident and seductive so quickly? He got the back of Niall’s neck and stepped in closer to him.

“Does that only happen when you’re horny?” Niall said. “I wonder if we kiss, will you make all of my bones and my veins glow?”

Zayn couldn’t wait any longer. He kissed Niall’s mouth gently. His lips were really soft and perfect, yet they didn’t feel as unkissed as Zayn expected them to feel. Niall kissed back aggressively. Zayn put his hand on the back of Niall’s head and felt his soft blond hair.

Niall pulled away abruptly. “This is detrimental to our journey. We’re out here to find your brother and save him from getting himself killed.”

Zayn was baffled.

“I..” Niall looked at him. “If it counts for anything, I’ve always wanted to do that. I just can’t do it again.”

“Ok.” Zayn said. He nodded slowly.

Niall tore away from him with a sigh and went back to Harry.  

Zayn wanted to be angry, but he knew he had no place to. It was bad enough that he had shown Niall his magic, but even worse that he acted on his feelings for him; another man. It was wrong, Zayn knew. Everything about him was so wrong. The magic, his feelings… No matter how many times he tried to remind himself of what he learned from his father (Don’t be ashamed of who you are. Be proud. Proudly a Malik, proudly a wielder of magic.) it was so hard to feel right in a world considered him completely wrong.


	5. God is watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confrontations and grouchy niall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yea that was almost a month. anyway tough poop.

The next morning Louis awoke in a huge field covered in tiny white flowers. He felt like he'd been sleeping for a very long time.

Where am I? the king thought. He didn't remember encountering a field such as this on his journey. So much for that family of bridge trolls.

Louis got to his feet steadily. His legs felt numb and his feet had pins and needles. Looking around him, Louis couldn't spot his sword or his horse. Oh, that's right. Louis remembered. His horse was miniature. He could be anywhere; lost in a sea of tiny white flowers.

Louis' entire body felt lighter. Maybe a good sleep was what he really needed. He certainly wasn't getting much sleep with the serf girl Eleanor as his guest.

Louis crouched down and peered into the grass, trying to see if he could spot his horse. He whistled quietly, so as not to hurt the tiny eardrums of a miniature horse.

Suddenly a rustle came from the trees beyond him. Louis straightened up and turned around. His horse came loping from the trees like a wild stallion. He looked so free, even wearing a saddle.

Suddenly, looking closely at the small flowers around him, Louis realized where he was; the white sea. It wasn't a literal sea. It was just a field in a clearing filled with white flowers that put you under and you slept for a hours. Sometimes even days. Louis wondered at what point in his journey he he encountered this sea and fell asleep. 

Louis couldn't let this stop him. He had to keep going. He couldn't let go of his goal, his motivation. That dragon needed to pay for the destruction it brought upon his kingdom.

After finding a long trail of horse prints that Harry insisted MUST be from the King's horse Zayn, Niall, and Harry followed the trail on horseback in silence.

"Long night?" Sir Harry asked into the silence, ruffling his locks.

"Yea... Didn't-didn't get much sleep, you know, keeping.. keeping watch and things.. Like that..." Niall stuttered.

"You alright?" Zayn asked quietly from behind Niall on his horse.

The ride itself had been almost unbearably uncomfortable because of the night before, and Zayn couldn't take it anymore. They had to live with what was hanging in the air.

Niall cleared his throat. "Zayn. Hold on to me. It's not safe just trying to balance like that."

Sir Zayn suddenly felt so silly. What was he thinking? It wasn't a big deal.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right." Zayn mumbled.

Suddenly a darkness cast over the sun. Niall looked up. "Dragon." He said.

The heavy sound of it's wings cutting eerily through the wind sent chills up everyone's spines.

"Let's follow it. To the east!" Harry cried suddenly. He urged his horse after the dragon and Niall followed suit.

Zayn tried to stay alert, but the bumpy horseback ride and the breeze from the speed they were all going created an environment he could fall asleep in. The knight’s eyes felt heavy and he had only gotten around 4 hours of sleep the night before.

Harry suddenly stopped his horse. “Wait, Sir Niall.”

Niall slowed his horse and they stopped. “What?” He sounded a bit irritated. He was probably as tired or more so than Zayn.

“I’ve lost track of that damned dragon!” Sir Harry exclaimed in frustration. “We may never get another chance to follow it like we did!” He hopped down from his horse and began to pace in frustration. He scuffed up the red dirt on the ground with his heavy leather boots.

“It could have seen us and was leading us away from it’s hiding place. You never know.” Niall reasoned.

“NO! I do know! We had that sliver of a chance and we lost it!” Harry cried. He combed his hair back from his brow with his fingers and stared into the blue sky. A silver ring gleamed on his hand. It was the Styles family ring. Even though Sir Harry drank a lot, ran off to sleep with any woman (there was a man once too) in Doncaster, and was a bit theatrical at times, there wasn’t any doubt to how much he valued King Louis and his family name.

“Calm down, alright. We can just keep on the path we’re on,” Niall said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Sir Harry practically yelled. His face turned beet red. A group of blue birds resting in a tree above them were startled and dispersed throughout the forest, rustling the leaves and thin branches around them. A stray leaf floated down and landed on Sir Harry’s head. The knight didn’t seem to take notice.

Niall shrank back. His ears began to turn the color of Harry’s face. “Look, the goal here is to find Louis. We’re not even after the dragon. Louis is after the dragon, we’re after Louis, so I suggest you saddle your ass up and we keep going.”

Harry stopped pacing and looked straight at Niall. He pursed his lips and nodded. “Hmm. You might get a maiden to shag you yet.”

Niall’s face pinched into a smile. “You’re perverted.”

Harry walked back towards his horse slowly. “Not perverted, just well versed.”

From behind Niall, Zayn snorted incredulously.

“Why else do you think I get so much…”

Harry’s words were cut off as he stepped a little to the left onto a pile of fall leaves and plummeted into the earth with a not-so-manly scream.

“Harry!” Zayn and Niall cried in unison. They both got off of Zayn’s steed and inched towards the hole Harry had fallen into.

“A boobie trap,” Zayn said thoughtfully.

“A boobie trap? The only traps you find in the woods are for game.” Niall said.

The two of them got on their knees and leaned down into the hole. It was big enough to fit Harry in it. What could it have been set up for? A deer? Why make a trap for a deer that would send it away from you

“It must be for some underground creatures or something. Ground trolls. That’s right.” Niall said.

“What? Trolls?” Zayn questioned.

“Yea. There are ten kinds of trolls. Only three live in deciduous forest environments though; there are bridge trolls - also called creek/river trolls, mountain trolls, and the ground trolls. They’re the only carnivorous troll out there. Only meat. Most are omnivores. Though some are vegetarians by choice, many…”

Zayn cut the other knight off. “No, I know what a troll is, Niall.” He chuckled. It was actually really cute and unexpected that Niall knew so much about trolls. “It’s just that, I know who set up this trap. It isn’t any troll. It was set up by wizards.”

Niall sat back on his heels. “Wizards?”

“My father once made a trap like this…” Zayn said, almost fondly. “They’re set up for knights, ironically. Knights are the main ones who go after wizards, since practicing magic is illegal…”

Zayn looked off solemnly. “Yet, more than anything, I wanted to be a knight.”

Niall bit his lip. “Well we’ve got to get Harry. Where does the hole lead to?”

“God knows,” Zayn said. “The holes are enchanted. They send whoever falls in to the Wizard that set the trap and the wizard usually holds the person captive.”

“Great! What if the trap setter was this powerful, malicious wizard that hates knights and he kills Harry? We have to find him!” Niall said, getting up.

Zayn took his arm. “Niall,” he said.

Niall stopped and looked down at Zayn. His usually hazel eyes were milky dark brown today and their warm color melted Niall a bit on the inside.

“We… we have to find him.” Niall urged gently.

“We have to find Louis. There isn’t any doubt that dragon will kill him. Dragons don’t reason. They aren’t human, they kill, they burn, they destroy. I can’t let that dragon kill my brother.” Zayn said.

"You're right. Our duty is to help the King of Doncaster." Niall unwrapped his arm from Zayn's grip and offered the knight his hand.

Zayn took his hand and stood up.

"Well," Niall said. "It's a good thing Sir Harry didn't take my horse down that hole with him, eh?"

Zayn smirked. "Hmm. Yea sure is."

Niall climbed onto his own horse and scratched behind it's ears. "Good boy, Applesauce." He reached into Harry's pack that was tied to the saddle and produced a carrot. He fed it to his horse. "Enjoy that. Those are our rations."

Zayn was already back on his horse and urged it forward. "Alright then; eastward, or whatever!" Zayn said, imitating Harry's voice.

Niall laughed out loud. "Eastward!"

"So quick to just leave your friend for the nasty magic folk are we?" Said an unfamiliar voice.

Both knights turned their horses around and came face to face with a tall woman with long, light brown hair. She stood, partially hidden between two trees. She wore a dark, velvet cloak over her raggedy serf dress.

"Who are you?" Zayn asked, drawing his sword.

Niall drew his sword as well.

The woman laughed. "You really are so disconnected, Zayn Malik. You even speak like the plain mortal people. So chopped up and contrived. It's like you're all reading from scripts filled with lies and chivalry. Oh, chivalry. Hold the door for a woman in fine silks, and slam the door in the face of a woman in rags. Wonderful chivalry. Wonderful knights. Living a pathetic boyhood dream."

"How dare you!" Niall spat. He could feel his own blood boiling.

"How do you know my name?" Zayn asked.

"You're a wizard." The woman said, slitting her eyes. "I could smell it on you. It was difficult at first; the smell of magic was masked by the stench of knighthood."

Niall buried his nose in his own armpit and made a face.

"...We all know about Zayn Malik. The wizard whose father was a part of an elite Islamic coven from the East. The wizard who was adopted by the very family of the very man we hate. The late King Tomlinson." The woman spoke Zayn's foster father's name with such hate.

Sir Zayn got off of his horse and approached the woman, holding his sword below her chin. She didn't even flinch as the cold, reflective weapon came deadly close to making contact with her throat.

"Your name?"

"I am the Lady Sophia of the Red Wood." Sophia declared haughtily.

"What does that mean to me?" Zayn questioned.

"I am a powerful sorceress. You should fear me. You could be powerful to, dear Zayn, but you're hopelessly out of practice." Lady Sophia scoffed.

For some reason, that comment caught Zayn off guard. It cut him to hear the truth. He hadn’t practiced any truly powerful magic in some time.

"Are you the one that trapped Sir Harry?" Niall asked, edging into the confrontation. He slid off of his horse and gripped his sword.

"Why yes, boy. I am." Lady Sophia said.

“Where is he?” Zayn demanded, turning his sword on it’s face and pressing the cold blade onto Sophia’s neck.

“Ooh,” she sighed. “I like that, Zayn Malik. You’re so loyal and brave. How knightly. I can see it in your eyes: You’d do anything for that cowardly king of yours. You're his lionheart. How sweet.”

A sudden rage filled Zayn. He dropped his sword and put both hands around Lady Sophia’s throat. He saw a red light streaming through the thick veins on his arms down to his fingers. Lady Sophia squirmed.

“Stop,” she croaked. “I doubt you know how to control malicious magic yet,”

Zayn tightened his grip. “Who says I was trying to control it? If I let it flow freely, it could turn your esophagus to ashes without me moving an inch.”

Beside him, Niall paled. His hands were damp. The Zayn that stood beside him turned from a familiar fellow knight to a wielder of malicious, violent magic. It scared him. As a knight, it was humiliating for him to admit fear, even to himself.

“Zayn, stop.” Niall said.

Zayn ignored him. “I’ll make you pay for what you said about Louis. I’ll make you pay for capturing Harry. I’ll make you pay for being a bitch. For underestimating me.”

Sophia’s face was turning blue.

“Zayn, stop!” Niall exclaimed, pushing Zayn off of Lady Sophia with all the force he could muster. Sophia collapsed and began coughing violently. Zayn fell to the dirt, flabbergasted. The red light from his veins shot out of his fingertips and bounced off of all the trees and rocks around them before it flew into Niall’s chest and he staggered onto his knees.

He held his chest and winced at the pain. “Look what you’ve done! You let your anger totally take over and you hurt me and you almost killed the sorceress!”

“So what if I did?” Zayn said. “What does she matter to you?”

“You can’t just kill her! We need her to find Harry! You almost jeopardized our mission!” Niall cried.

“Our mission is to find my brother!” Zayn yelled.

Niall shook his head. “I’m sick of yelling today. I’m going to lose my voice.”

He went over to Lady Sophia and helped her up. “Take my hand,” She stood up and Niall leaned her against a nearby tree. “... And something to drink, and tell Zayn and I where the hell our friend is.”

Niall handed Sophia his flask of ale and took a long sip. She coughed once more and handed Niall the nearly empty flask. “Your friend is with the dragon;The dragon that lit Doncaster on fire last week.”

Zayn stood up. “We cannot waste another second with this wretch, Sir Niall. Where is the dragon?”

“The mountain all the way to the west. He lives in the cave in the middle of the mountain. It’s a big hole. You can’t miss it. Harry will be there.” Lady Sophia croaked. “Just, please, don’t kill him.”

Zayn began to climb back onto his horse. “Why would I kill my friend?”

“I meant the dragon.” Sophia said.

Niall’s eyebrows shot up.

Lady Sophia formed a glowing green ball of light in her hands and pushed it into her chest. The light engulfed her body and her image flickered away silently. She was gone.

“Transport magic. Something I have yet to master.” Zayn mused. “We must carry on into the west this time. If we go to find Harry with the dragon, Louis could be nearby since he has intentions to kill the beast. Come on, Niall.”

After journeying into the west for hours nonstop, the sun began to set and the knights stopped at a creek so their horses could drink. They ate some bread and sat at the edge of the creek on the ground. 

“Bread makes you tired, you know.” Niall said.

“I’m already tired.” Zayn said.

“I am too.” Niall sighed. His sigh abruptly became wheezing and he clutched his chest. “Agh.”

“Are you alright?” Zayn asked.

“That red light hit me right in the chest. I wasn’t wearing any armor to deflect it.” Niall said. “What’ll it do it me?”

Zayn’s heart sank. “It just hurts like heartburn and tickles for awhile. It’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

Niall stood set his bread on his knee and pulled his shirt off. It got caught around his large head and when he finally popped his head through the neck hole, his hair stuck up all around his head.

“Wow,” Zayn said with a chuckle. He reached over to fix Niall’s hair subconsciously and Niall sat back.

Zayn furrowed his eyebrows. “Sorry, I was just trying to fix it.”

“I like my hair like this.” Niall insisted, examining his chest. There was an unfamiliar red mark, probably left by Zayn’s red light. When he touched it the mark burned unlike anything Niall had gotten on the exterior of his body.

“No you don’t,” Zayn said. “No one would like their hair like that. It’s ridiculous, Niall.”

“Well I do.” Niall said, looking away from Zayn.

The only sounds that could be heard was the sound of the water of the creek and the horses shuffling around. Even the forest seemed to be quiet.

Niall scooted towards Zayn. “Want my bread?” He asked.

Zayn looked at Niall. “It’s all dusty.”

“You’ll get hungry.” Niall insisted.

“I’m used to eating in a castle almost every night,” Zayn said with a smirk.

Niall put his bread down and moved his face close to Zayn’s. Zayn’s heart stopped for a moment. Zayn looked at Niall’s lips. Niall smiled.

“I feel like someone is watching us,” Niall said.

“God is watching,” Zayn said.

“Ooh,” Niall said.

Somehow Zayn found himself kissing Niall again. Every instinct he had to touch Niall gave Zayn a pang of regret. He was wasting time. This was so selfish. This was about Louis and Harry, not indulging himself with one of his fellow knights. Niall’s kisses were so passive, as if he expected Zayn to be more into it than he was.

Zayn put his hand on the back of Niall’s neck and Niall leaned his head back. Niall’s neck was perfect creamy white except for a little brown mole just on his Adam’s apple. It’s was sickeningly wonderful.

“No one has ever kissed my neck before. Uncharted territory.” Niall said. When they kissed Sir Niall turned into this strange, persuasive demon.

Zayn let go of Niall’s neck and leaned back onto the dirt. “I despise you.”

Niall tied his shirt around his neck like a cape and laid back onto the dirt beside Zayn. “What is your aversion to my throat? Your canines are perfect for sinking your teeth into me like a wolf would sink it’s teeth into a doe…”

“Dear God, stop,” Zayn said, laughing. He turned to Niall, who was already facing him. Niall’s eyes were suddenly blood red.

Zayn gasped and turned away from Niall quickly.

Niall let out a manic laugh “Did I scare you?”

Zayn turned back to Niall and his eyes were their normal deep blue.

“They were red; your eyes.” Zayn said.

Niall took Zayn’s hand and kissed the veins on his wrist and then pressed Zayn’s hand onto the back of Niall’s neck. Red streams of light surged through Zayn’s forearm and Niall’s eyes glowed red suddenly.

“I can feel my eyes turning red. It’s cold.” Niall said.

Zayn pulled his hand back quickly and held it to his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Niall sat up. “I can control you,”

Zayn felt a lump in his throat. The only person that could control a wielder's magic other than the wielder is someone that they held in such a large, emotionally draining regard. As cheesy as it was, a wielder's weakness was love.

“This has to stop.” Zayn said. He looked at his hands.

"I was the one who said that last time,” Niall said. “Don’t you like kissing me?”

Niall pulled Zayn’s head towards his and kissed him greedily. Zayn kissed him back with as much force, except his emotions were mixed with frustration bordering on anger.

Zayn broke away. “Let’s argue again.”

“No, I’m sick of arguing. Let’s fight. I want to make you bleed and then kiss you and then I want to see your face twist into that frustrated expression you always hold.” Niall said. His face was pink.

Zayn leaned away from him.

“Please, come on,” Niall said. “And then use malicious magic on me. It scares me. I want you to scare me. Please, scare me and hurt me and love me, please.”

Zayn pulled his hand into a fist and punched Niall in the face.

Niall fell back and held his face, moaning in pain. “Bloody hell that hurt. Damn you,” Niall said, holding his nose. Blood trickled down his chest and onto the dirt.

“I’m sorry!” Zayn said, realizing what he’d done. “Ugh, I keep apologizing to you…”

“Hit me again,” Niall said.

“No!” Zayn said.

Niall came at him with his fists raised and blood all over his face, but Zayn grabbed his wrists and held them firmly in the air.

“STOP. What’s wrong with you?” Zayn said.

“Why has it taken all this time for you to see me this way, Sir Zayn? I’ve always been there, and you never considered me until now.” Niall said.

“I did consider you, you idiot. I’ve always seen you this way. Don’t you understand anything about the world? Don’t you know that we just can’t be in a place like Doncaster or anywhere? I was trying to be a knight and be a brother and be respected. Everything about me is different. I’m a wizard, and I don’t look like everyone else in Doncaster and I’ve always been interested in you, and it’s just hard, ok. Why must you be so naive?”

Niall sniffed up some blood that was falling from his nose.

Zayn brought Niall’s arms around him and kissed Niall on the mouth sweetly, not minding that he got blood under his nose from Niall’s face.

Niall parted from Zayn and hugged him suddenly. “That was the fourth one,”

Niall said from over Zayn’s shoulder.

“You become so unlike yourself when we do these things,” Zayn said.

“It’s you that does this to me,” Niall said. “I think you’re putting some kind of enchantment on me,”

Zayn looked at one of Niall’s hands that was now around Zayn’s waist and his eyes widened. Niall’s hand was filled with red streams of light. It was like the enchantment he put on the dead rose. Zayn’s passion filled Niall with life.

“I dunno,” Niall said. He broke the hug and stared off into the forest behind Zayn. “Maybe I just need some sleep.”  


	6. Born From the Glowing Blood of a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the long awaited climax arrives. *starts singing Usher song*

Niall and Zayn continued their journey, making minimal stops so as not to be distracted by... Each other. The most important thing was finding Louis and Harry. The knights rode through a grassy field, and as Zayn gazed out into the treeless landscape that sped past his eyes, he reflected on his journey. It had begun as a solo quest: for Louis as well, but Zayn couldn't let him die alone. Then dangerous little Niall came along and Zayn couldn't refuse him. Harry offered his company, and at that point, there was no reason Harry shouldn't come. Now, Harry was gone and there was only him and Niall. Zayn wondered if the whole thing would turn out the way it all started: just Zayn going after his brother and king.

Niall slowed his horse suddenly and motioned for Zayn to do the same. "That's the mountain." He said, pointing into the distance.

Niall and Zayn gazed at the enormous mountain, a dark mass covered with mossy green. From the distance, they could see its peak and it didn't seem so large.

"It won't be long now." Zayn said. "I've been praying to God that Louis hasn't beat us there."

"I'm genuinely terrified," Niall said. "Never handled a situation besides things inside Doncaster."

Zayn looked at Niall. His cheeks were rosy from the cool air and he had a sense of pride on his face from the fact that he was a part of a bigger mission, but at the same time he looked as terrified as he said he was. In Niall, more than any of the other knights, Zayn always saw a refreshing sense of humanity.

"Don't worry, Sir Niall. If we die, we die knights of Doncaster." Zayn assured him.

Niall looked off quietly for a moment. "If we _die_ , we're going to hell."

To that, Zayn didn't know how to reply.

The two knights rode the rest of the way in silence. Well, at least until they were deep in the woods again. Niall began to sing a little folk song to himself. It relieved some of the tense energy that had been hanging in the air.

"I don't want there to be this thing between us, ok?" Zayn said suddenly.

"Huh?" Niall looked up, pulled out of his daydream.

"Hopefully, this journey will be over soon. When we return to Doncaster, I don't want this anymore. I just want things to go back to normal. We have to break things off now." Zayn said. It hurt him to say it, but he needed to. It was the only way for him to wean himself off of Niall.

"Ok." Niall said.

Zayn was surprised by his short response, but the surprise soon mixed with the poisonous thoughts in his mind and he felt like he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"You can't break things off with me, you can't dump me. I'm not your lover; I'm your guilty pleasure. Don't make this into more than it is. This isn't some romantic story we have here. It's nothing more than lust." Niall said.

Zayn ground his teeth. He wasn't ready to admit to himself that everything Sir Niall said was in the truth. He wanted to make it all into more than it was: Something important and special.

Another hour of painful silence, and the two knights finally reached the mountain. Something about that mountain was different from what they expected, though; in it, a large cave had been carved. Sir Niall and Sir Zayn stared into the dark hole in the mountain and their hearts raced.

"I haven't got a lamp or anything," Niall said. He looked into the sky. "The sun will be setting in an hour or two... We'll have to find this dragon in complete darkness."

"Don't worry," Zayn said. Niall could tell that his thoughts were elsewhere. "I have light. I'm a wizard, remember?"

Zayn slid off of his horse's back and took a step forward. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Niall drew his sword and followed Zayn into the cave. He trusted that their horses wouldn't run away and didn't tie them down in case something should happen to him or Zayn.

The cave was eerily quiet. As they got further and further away from the entrance, the darkness engulfed them even more and it was becoming increasingly hard to see. At that moment, Zayn focused his energy into the ground. Even though there wasn’t any grass or roots on the ground, everything on the earth had a soul light energy; even if they were inanimate. Niall stopped walking and nearly fell over in surprise as pale light surged from Zayn's feet and created an intricate web of light on the ground that stretched all the way down the cave. Suddenly, everything was clearer than before. Niall and Zayn could see things that they almost would have preferred to not see; charred bodies and human skeletons and remains lined the sides of the cave.

"Oh my God," Niall whispered.

"This is something we honestly needed to see. This is what we're up against." Zayn said.

The thought that Louis' remains could be amongst the ones he saw haunted him.

The knights approached a crossroads in the cave. There were two more paths in front of them, and they had to chose one.

"Let's split up, I'll take the..." Niall began.

"No." Zayn said. "We need to stay together. If you or I get lost, it'll just take longer to get out of here. Besides... You'll need my help to defeat the dragon."

Niall scoffed. "You don't think I can handle myself? I've been trained with the sword and combat..."

"Yea and dragons breathe fire. I have magic. The ordinary person is no match for a knight."

"It happens all the time! Dragons are slayed by knights, Zayn. "

"Only in stories, Sir Niall…"

Niall glared at him.

Zayn looked past Niall's shoulder and saw something he hadn't noticed before: a winding stone staircase. It was covered in piles of dirt, and had been camouflaged well in the now dimly lit cave.

"Turn around. Do you see that? That's a solution." Zayn said.

Niall looked at the staircase and then back at Zayn. Without saying a word, he put his sword back into its sheath and stepped off of Zayn’s magically lit path.

"You going to help me clean this or what?"

Zayn smirked.

The knights quickly removed pile after pile of dirt from the steps. Getting their hands deep in the cool dirt reminded Zayn of when he used to mess around in the castle garden with Louis, undoing the gardener's hard work.

"Ok, that should do it." Niall said, slapping his hands together to remove excess dirt. "Let's go. Spot me."

Niall began to climb the steps. They were fairly sturdy. "Ok, it's fine. Come on up," he said once he reached the top.

"What's up there?" Zayn asked, as he began to climb.

Niall didn't respond.

When he reached the top of the stairs, Zayn was surprised to find himself in a large, abandoned throne room. Dusty old Persian carpets covered the floor. A mountain with a staircase and a throne room inside? It was as if a castle had been built inside of the mountain.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Niall said. He was holding a dusty unlit torch stick. "Does Sir Zayn have magic fire powers too?"

"Not quite yet." Zayn said. He made a fist and then opened his hand and a bright blue orb appeared. "This will have to do for now." Zayn touched the torch stick with his left hand to enchant it and placed the orb on the top with his right.

Niall smiled and waved the torch around. "Great. Now, we still have got to find-"

A loud crash followed by a thunderous roar interrupted Niall's words. The two knights froze.

"It found us." Zayn whispered.

"I didn't even know it was in home?" Niall whispered back. "Quick, next plan of action."

"Well, I suggest we get the f-"

Another thundering roar.

And then an human cry.

Zayn's eyes widened. "Louis." He mouthed.

He took a deep breath.

"No, doesn’t, it'll hear us."

"It could be outside the mountain for all we know."

"No."

"LOUIS!!!" Zayn cried.

No response.

"It came from below. I have to go.” Zayn said.

“I’m coming then,” Niall said, despite all of the fear that flooded his disarmingly cute face.

“No. Remember what I said? I have magic. You’ll be no match for the-”  Zayn’s words were cut short when Niall looped his free arm around the other knight’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

A sound of surprise and pleasure escaped Zayn’s lips. “What..”

Niall kissed his mouth again, for good measure. “I know you have magic and I don’t. I know I’m no match for the dragon. I also know that even though you don’t want this anymore, you lust for it, and… and if you die… I would just go mad knowing I didn’t get one last kiss…”

Zayn’s face was burning. He pulled Niall towards him and they kissed again, hastily.

“I have to do this now, ok?” He looked at Niall earnestly.

The blond nodded and backed away from Zayn. Zayn nodded back and then disappeared down the staircase.

"LOUIIIIIIS!" Zayn cried. "LOUIS WAS THAT YOU?"

The knight reached the bottom of the steps and began to walk forward from the direction he and Niall had come. The blue light revealed nothing.

"Louis?"

Hot air huffed on Zayn's neck. He turned around quickly, drawing his sword, only to find himself face to face with a horrific winged black creature. He jumped back. However, the creature he saw... Couldn't have been the dragon he was hunting... The dragon that destroyed Doncaster. It was the size of a horse! The dragon he saw in the sky was the size of a barn!

_What in the hell are you looking at, you bloody sorcerer?_

A voice rang in Zayn's ears. He looked around, still gripping his sword with increasingly sweaty hands. The dragon began to make advances on him. One cautious step forward.

His wings were folded against his back in an almost docile way. Not like the dragons that knights fought.

_What in the hell are you looking at?_

Zayn narrowed his eyes at the dragon. "Was it you?"  

The dragon inched forward and roared.

Zayn tightened his grip on the sword and stepped forward as well.

"Do it again."

The dragon roared.

"Do IT."

The dragon roared.

Zayn stepped forward and readied his blade. "GAAHHHHHHHH!" He cried.

_Trying communicate, you imbecile? You hang around mortals too much. It's made you weak. Sorcerers aren't weak._

Zayn's face contorted. Was it because he was a sorcerer? Was that why the dragon could speak through Zayn's mind?

_What are you waiting for? Strike me._

Zayn found himself hesitant.

The dragon’s body swelled and suddenly he released a huge stream of fire straight at Zayn, who dropped to the ground in a timely fashion, covering his head. He stayed on the ground when the fire was gone, unsure of what to do next. Should he stay down?

_On your feet, dammit!!_

Zayn stood up and swung at the dragon wildly before he had even collected his thoughts, throwing all that he had learned as a trained swordsman out of the window.

_Weak._

Zayn swung again, coming into contact with the dragon’s shoulder. It let out a disturbingly human cry. Zayn’s heart skipped a beat. The adrenaline was going again. Black blood covered the magically illuminated cave ground.

_Right. I forgot about the pain part._

The tone of the dragon’s thoughts reminded Zayn of someone.

The dragon stepped back and began to pace.

“Don’t go anywhere. We’ve only just begun.” The knight said.

The creature let out isolated shots of orange fire, knowing seeing the flames would scare Zayn and further provoke him.

Zayn cried out swiped at the dragon’s long, arching neck, but missed when it nonchalantly moved its head a little bit away from the knight’s blade.

“I’m SHIT!” Zayn cried, swiping at the dragon again. This time opened its wings and positioned itself in the air with the little air resistance it had in the mountain cave.

Zayn backed up quickly for momentum and then ran towards the dragon, letting out a primal scream before leaping in the air with his sword and ripping into the beast, right down the its belly. The dragon cried out and collapsed on the ground with a thud. Its blood and unraveled guts began to spill from Zayn’s incision.

The knight backed up. Had he done it?

“Where is my brother? Where is King Louis? Did you kill him?” Zayn asked.

No reply.

“Answer the fucking questions.” Zayn said, turning his blade and admiring the dragon’s blood that stained its surface.

_Ha - ha - ha - ha_

Zayn watched in horror as the blood and guts he had just spilled crawled back into the dragon’s gut.

_USE MAGIC ON ME YOU BASTARD. Use magic or you’ll never free me._

Zayn dropped his bloody sword. His hands were shaking. No matter his title, he was still human.. Kind of.

“Well… If it’s magic you want…”

Zayn took a deep breath and exhaled visibly blue breath. “I’ll give you some magic.”

_My ass. You’re a waste of space and talent, Sir Zayn Malik. Yea, get angry. I can smell the anger. Get angry and slay me like a good knight._

“Ha.” Zayn scoffed. “Damn right I’m good.”

_Don’t get cocky now._

Zayn began an Arabic spell-chant his father taught him. The words, although he hadn't spoken them in some time, rolled off his tongue elegantly and flawlessly. The feeling of Arabic was distantly familiar to him, yet it took little effort to recall. As he spoke, his feet left the ground the blue breath that tumbled from his mouth slowly began to form into a blade, which solidified and fit perfectly in his arms once he stopped the chant. Zayn knew what was behind him, although he couldn't see it; an enormous pair of illuminated dragon wings had formed on his back, hanging in the air. The spell his father had taught him was created specifically for killing dragons.

The dragon stood on its feet and opened its hideous black wings and let out a scream accompanied by a huge stream of fire.

Zayn deflected the fire with his new blade and it split on either side of the sorcerer, scorching the walls of the mountain cave.

_I don’t know where the King is. I haven’t seen him. Since the day I attacked Doncaster. And if I had ran into Louis, the last thing I would do is kill him._

Zayn was furious; it was the fact that this dragon didn't seem to have any intention of really fighting back, the fact that it wanted to be killed, the fact that I didn't seem violent at all, that infuriated him. By killing the beast, Zayn would be doing it a favor. All of the rage inside of him built up and he felt a boiling heat in his chest. Zayn raised his sword over his head and let out the dark cry of a dragon as he propelled himself forward and brought his blade down onto the dragon’s head. The impact decapitated the beast and it’s lifeless body fell to the ground for the second time, twitching.

Zayn continued to cry out and hack and slash away at the dragon’s body with his glowing blade. Even with the overwhelming glow of the blue magic energy around him, Zayn still felt the dragon’s blood as it soaked his body. As he continued to hack away, his arms began to strain and the light around him began to fade. His cry eventually faded to something more human, but nonetheless monstrous. Zayn’s blade suddenly felt incredibly heavy in his arms and he sank to the ground. He was surprised when he didn’t hear the sound of the sorcerer blade clank against the stone ground.

Now all there was darkness. Even the light from the path was gone. It had been absorbed into the Arabic dragon chant. Zayn’s chest heaved and his arms ached and soreness overcame him as the adrenaline fled his body. Zayn beheld the remains of the dragon before him. A steaming black and red mess. His stomach heaved but he swallowed what threatened to leave his gut.

Suddenly, all of the dragon’s blood lit up in a fiery red, even the blood that covered Zayn’s body. He sat up in surprise to quickly. His head throbbed. That was enough bright magical light for one day.

The glowing blood floated away from Zayn and everywhere else on the cave and came together before him, forming itself into the shape of a human being.

A loud, piercing ring went off in the air and the light went out suddenly, leaving naked body of a man in front of Zayn.

“Dear God!” Zayn cried, covering his eyes.

Zayn heard the man fall to the ground. He moaned in pain.

Zayn uncovered his eyes slowly. The man sat on his knees with his hands out in front of his face. “I… I…” A shaking voice emerged from him.

It was the voice of the dragon that Zayn heard in his head. As Zayn’s eyes lingered longer on the man - his large muscles and messy, wavy hair - he realized that he knew this man born from the glowing blood of a dragon.

“Sir… _Liam??_ ”

 


	7. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the journey has come to an end. How will things tie together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least I finished it.

The tale of the King and his loyal surrogate brother has come to an end. 

After defeating the dragon, Sir Zayn was the first to discover that the dragon's true identity was in fact Sir Liam Payne. Sir Liam had once been King Louis' favorite. However, after a series of absences, Louis lost trust in the knight. Eventually, Sir Liam never showed his face again. No one knew what had become of him. Many assumed he was dead, for in Doncaster's age of disease, feudalism, and intolerance, death was always on the mind. 

“Sir… Liam??” Zayn said.

“Zayn. Thank you.” 

Zayn got to his feet and approached the naked man. He held a hand out.   
“Is this what you got up to on those trips into the woods?” 

Liam took Zayn’s hand and stood up shakily. He laughed weakly. “Really?” 

“What… What happened?” 

“A sorceress, that’s what.” Liam said bitterly. His brown eyes were bloodshot. “Sophia.” 

Zayn’s eyes widened. “Sophia? She got in my way on the way… On the way to find you… and Louis.” 

“Yes. She did this to me.” Liam’s face softened. “But I deserved it. I was cruel.”

Zayn drew his dark eyebrows together. “Malicious magic… That’s not the man I remember.” 

Liam’s face suddenly crumpled and his eyes overflowed with tears. His words came out in a thick sob. “It’s been a year. I haven’t been in my own body for a year. I was so alone. I was truly outcast… But she… that sorceress was actually there for me. She.. she comes every day, here, to this horrible mountain where I hide out, just to see Sir Liam whom she transformed into a dragon. Because she loves me.”

Zayn made a face. “She loves you?” 

“She could have left me, you see, Sir Zayn. She could have killed me herself instead of freezing my life as a human and making me into a beast. She didn't though. She didn’t leave me, or kill me. Sophia loves me.” Liam said, looking off distantly.

“So… Are you guys like… A weird dragon-human couple??” Zayn asked.

Liam was unfazed by Zayn. “No. But I… I think I love her too.”

Zayn sighed. “Wow. I… Well, Niall is here too. I think.”

“Hm. I know. I smelled him.” Liam said.

Zayn gave him a look. 

Liam shook his head goofily. “I… Man I’m going to have to get used to this. I can hardly smell a thing. My senses are so dull.” 

Zayn sniffed the air and made a face. 

"Not that there's anything wrong with dull senses!" Liam said. 

"Just..." Zayn stammered. 

"You get it. Never mind. Whatever. Bffft." 

Niall descended from the his hiding place with trembling legs.   
"S-sir...?" He stammered. 

"Don't look so petrified," Liam said in a groggy voice. 

"It really is you!" Niall exclaimed. "But how? Did the dragon swallow you whole? Were you sleeping in it's belly?" His eyes widened and his face turned red. "Where are your pants??"

"I was the dragon, Sir Niall," Liam said carefully. "It was a curse. A horrible curse. But I understand now. I understand why it had to be done." 

Niall looked straight into Liam's eyes. "Can I just ask you why? Why did you set fire to Doncaster?"

"I was just so furious." Liam said. "I wanted to go back and leave my dragon form. Seeing all of the people below me, I was just filled with the most jealousy I've ever felt in my life. I was once someone that was adored and looked up to, but in a matter of seconds I became something that everyone hated and feared. So I burned a village and enforced even more hatred and fear. Stupid, I know. I've learned since then though." 

Zayn put a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Let's get you home." 

Liam took a step backwards. "I can't go home. I haven't got a home anymore, Zayn." 

"Sure you do." Zayn said. 

"No he doesn't. His cousin took over Payne manor, remember?" Niall reminded Zayn. 

Zayn sucked his teeth. 

Liam's heart sunk when he thought of the world going on without him, everyone just moving on. But he didn't expect that anyone would be waiting for him when the curse was lifted. He was too ashamed to show is face anyway. He had caused so much terror. 

"I have Sophia now," Liam said. 

"What?" Niall exclaimed. "The witch bitch?"

"Yes," Liam said. "She said she would wait for the curse to be lifted and give me a chance to be kind. I hurt her a long time ago when I had taken for granted how many people cared about me. I have to go to her now."

"Where is she?" Zayn asked. "Sir Niall and I will escort you, my friend." 

"Wait. Not until he gets pants." Zayn said. He made another ball in between his palms and spread his hands apart. A pair of blue trousers appeared in his hands. 

"What the-" Niall stammered. "Make me a new pair of shoes."

"I haven't figured out shoes yet," Zayn said with a smirk. 

"Thank you so much." Liam said. He put on the trousers. They fit him perfectly. "I don't need a shirt. Sophia will like me this way."

"Don't get a big head just yet," Zayn warned him. 

"Alright ladies, let's go," Niall said, taking the lead down the magically lit cave tunnel. 

They had been walking awhile when something crossed Zayn's mind. "Say, Liam, how did you know about my magic already?" 

"As a dragon, I was in the same spirit realm as you, and so I could sense your magic, just as any wizard could." Liam said. "Sophia told me all about it. She said we were connected." 

"Spirit realm?"

"Our spirits reside on the same kind of... Wavelength... It's gard to explain. We're in the same family, like dogs and wolves." Liam said. "We're brothers and sisters; figuratively speaking."

Zayn nodded. "Hmm... All this time...." 

Niall and Zayn traveled for a couple more days on their way back to Doncaster. It was quicker, since they knew the way and weren't just looking for the Liam dragon. 

The sun was beginning to set, and before the two knights knew it, they had ridden to the top of the hill that overlooked all of Doncaster. 

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Niall said. 

Zayn sighed. "'Tis."

Niall took in a deep breath and let it out. 

"Can I just ask? What happens now? What about Louis?" Zayn asked. "Have we forgotten about my brother?" 

Just then, if by magic, a familiar voice called Zayn's name. 

Zayn turned around and saw Louis standing beside a tree at the edge of the forest; horseless, armor-less, weapon-less. Even stranger, he was wearing a crown of flowers as well as a matching necklace. 

"What in the hell?" Niall said. 

"Louis!" Zayn exclaimed. He slid off of his horse and ran towards the king. "How did you find us?" 

"A mysterious woman saw me wandering in the forest and she pointed me in your direction. I asked if she had seen a knight. I didn't know Sir Niall was here too!" Louis said. 

It had to have been Sophia. She wasn't a bitch after all. Well, she was, but a helpful one. 

"Zayn, I've given up. I cannot find the damned dragon. And so many things have gotten in my way. There were some trolls, and this comfortable field, and then there was the group of water nymphs and their flowers." Louis patted his head. "I've lost everything. My horse was shrunken by the trolls." The king reached into his pocket and revealed his tiny steed. 

"Don't worry, my brother. Niall and I got the dragon. We took him down together. We did it for you and Doncaster." Zayn lied. 

Louis looked so exhausted, physically and emotionally. "I need to return to my kingdom, and my... My Eleanor. This journey of revenge was selfish. It was always really about me trying to prove my worth as a king, that's what it was. Revenge is never the right path. I'm just... I'm ready to go home, Zayn."

Zayn put his arm around his brother. "Let's go home then, my king. But first, I've got to do something about that horse of your's."

 

When the three returned to Doncaster, they were surprised to find a delusional Sir Harry in the dining hall with the other knights, telling them all about his magical kidnapping. The knights of Doncaster greeted the travelers with open arms and booming voices that echoed off of the dining hall walls. King Louis, now getting back into his spirits, ordered the kitchen to prepare a huge feast. They would have a party to celebrate the slaying of the dragon that terrorized his precious kingdom. The truth about the matter was never revealed to anyone and was kept between Niall and Zayn. 

"Sophia must have let Sir Harry out of that magic rabbit portal." Niall whispered to Zayn. 

Niall's breath on Zayn's neck tickled him. 

While everyone was talking excited Zayn pulled Niall aside. They stood behind the grand stone staircase that led to the chambers. 

"Things are going to be fine, right. We're doing great, it hasn't been awkward, there hasn't been tension..."   
"It's addicting," Niall said. "I can't just stop. I know what I've said before. You've said a lot too. It's wrong, but it could be fun." 

 

Niall silenced Zayn with a kiss on the cheek.   
"Everything is wrong..." Zayn murmured. His veins began to pulse butter as he looked into Niall's soft blue eyes. 

"This can be right. We can make it so in our own little world. You can't ask me to be around you and not want to touch you..." Niall said. 

Zayn put his hands around Niall's throat gently. "I hate you."

Niall smirked. "Ooh, I could get used to this."

Zayn started to return to the others but Niall pulled him back. "Kiss me before I have to wait again." 

Zayn gave Niall the most sweet, gentle kiss that he knew that boy deserved. He wasn't what he acted like, and Zayn knew it. He wasn't this ferocious sexual person. He was young and naive and definitely a virgin. 

As Zayn kissed Niall, he felt the boy melt against him. He was so overcome by Zayn. It was amazing to think that someone could be so taken by him. He was just Zayn. Just an ordinairy knight/magi living in a castle with a king for a brother. 

Zayn and Niall returned to the other knights as they continued their loud chatter and laughs. 

Zayn put his hands down on the table beside Sir Edward and interrupted another on of Harry's ever-changing stories about his abduction. "But I have a really good story, and it's one hundred percent true."

Harry smiled. "Do tell."

"It's the story of how Sir..." He looked at his brother, the King, sitting at the head of the table. The one person in the world that he had given his utmost loyalty to. The person he would defend and fight for and die for. He accepted Zayn as a brother and a friend when he had been utterly alone, and for thtat, Zayn owed him everything. 

"...It's the story of how King Louis, the brave King of Doncaster, took down the very dragon that set fire to Doncaster."


End file.
